Can my son change Martial arts classes and keep his belts?.. or does he have to start from scratch?? please help i have no idea!!
by 
Carey
ANSWERS: 2
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Generally, if he remains in the same discipline (e.g. "karate"), and goes to a new school, they will test him to see if he meets their standard for the color of belt he currently holding. If he passes the test, there usually isn't a problem -- and in most cases, most schools are 'forgiving' enough that if he's not trained in *all* the techniques they teach, they won't 'take' his belt away. They'll just brush him up on his way to his next higher belt. But if he is starting training in another *discipline* (e.g. changing from Karate to Judo), he has to start back at the bottom (white belt) again. However, due to his former training, advancement in other disciplines is usually more rapid than starting 'cold'.
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in my dojo, we were pretty lenient with people coming from similar styles. they would have to test from the beginning, but they could test in an accelerated manner until they got back to their current belt level. in the meantime, they would be able to wear their current belt in class. this way, they learned our style, but didn't have to take as long as someone who was a beginner. i would think, though, if it was a complete change of discipline (karate to kung fu, for example), your son would have to start over.
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